Monthly Archives: July 2010

Nature Sun shines upon the spinning Earth creating day and night nighttime is both cool and dark the days are warm and light Our planet must hold water and have an atmosphere and somehow DNA must form so life may … Continue reading →

Introduction Sustainable Communities are consciously designed, nurturing, life-affirming environments, many of which have been in existence around the world for decades. They were born out of the wave of optimism and creativity that swept the world in the 1960s, when … Continue reading →

Post-War Rebuilding Commitment to Social Improvement The Struggle for Survival It is now generally recognised that the excesses of 1920s precipitated the stock market collapse of 1929, and the great depression that followed. The Second World War was, at least … Continue reading →

Reparation A leaf was turned with Mabo. For some a brand new day because the High Court listened when Murray Islanders had their say It found that those remaining on land from times of old may claim Native Title if … Continue reading →

Making Business Accountable Whole Society Improvement By the end of WW2, people at all levels of society had had their full of unprincipled, extreme capitalism, exploitative business and ruthless management. The commercial world had become seen by many as a … Continue reading →

Why Assimilation Models have Failed False Assumptions The biggest problem that Aboriginal people suffer from is that they have too rarely been accorded the consideration and dignity due to all people in this Nation. They have too often been treated … Continue reading →

Economics The fundamental tenet on which economics rests is market forces driven by selfish interests Market forces help to make consumer products cheap but side effects are also costs that we all must reap The market does not satisfy the … Continue reading →

The Hope of the Future Great Expectations The years following WW2 were a period of intense family creation by returning soldiers, to make up for decades of global hardship, impoverishment, war and destruction. The incoming generation grew up knowing relative … Continue reading →

From Impoverished Settlements to Sustainable Communities From Destitution to Abundance Sustainable Subsistence Subsistence Living is about having the important basic needs provided to ensure good, ordinary living, without unnecessary accoutrements. Sustainable subsistence living is about having these important needs met … Continue reading →

healthy person psychology During the 1950s, consistent with other improvements to society, new forms of psychotherapy were being discovered and refined, based upon observations of positive outcomes that were way ahead of the best theories of the day. The search … Continue reading →

Social Decline in Mainstream Society During the 1960s and 1970s, new, wholistic understandings were becoming incorporated into university faculties. Many arose from breakthroughs that had been experienced, observed and written about, often by eminent people at the top of their … Continue reading →

Effective solutions Real solutions already exist, but not within the same conventional, mainstream mindset that has created the plethora of problems that Aboriginal people have suffered and endured since the mission days. Einstein stated that a problem cannot be solved … Continue reading →

Societal Improvements in the 1960s Social Evolution and Wellbeing The rebuilding of society under a constantly improving work ethic pervaded all aspects of society. By the mid 1960s, the cutting-edge understanding was that organisations, jobs, personal growth and productivity were … Continue reading →

City Living Today Economic Insecurity A major characteristic of cities today is the very high costs of living, including rents, which necessitates a well-paid, full-time job to stay ahead. Of course, jobs are no longer secure, not all of them … Continue reading →

Trouble-shooting Persistent Problems Problem Solving Many remote Aboriginal settlements’ most pressing need is for professional staff with truly relevant skills, which might include organisational problem solving, and community development skills. Trouble-shooters are common enough in the commercial world, where a … Continue reading →

Introduction Sustainable Communities are consciously designed, nurturing, people-friendly environments, many of which have been in existence around the world for decades. They were born out of the wave of optimism and creativity that swept the world in the 1960s, when … Continue reading →

Proactive Management Proactive Work Practices Over decades, Peter Drucker pioneered almost every substantive management practice and industrial trend, setting the agenda for proactive management. He described pro-active work practices: “Workers [at every level of an organisation] grow according to the … Continue reading →

Rural Towns Today Rural Decline Small rural towns used to work quite well, despite, or perhaps because of their remoteness. There was a time when these small rural towns were far more self-contained, and self-reliant. Many used to be thriving … Continue reading →

Retrofitting Communities Appropriate Solutions Becoming More Wholistic and Sustainable Many remote settlements suffer designs and constructions that are more suited to temperate, wet climate town or city living, and generally are exceedingly unsustainable, making individual living and community management difficult … Continue reading →

1960s Communal Living Historical Experiments True community living is a relatively new phenomenon in post-industrial western civilisation. There has always been the odd attempt, usually by a group of religious or political idealists, many of whom went to remote and … Continue reading →